GOLDEN GATE YACHT CLUB HOLDS COURSE AS AC HOST
By Michelle Slade, yachting journalist
Tucked away at the end - or the beginning depending on whether you're on
foot or under sail - of Yacht Road along the San Francisco Marina West Yacht
Basin is the Golden Gate Yacht Club, a two-story-unassuming-almost-quaint
yellow building and home of the America's Cup Defender ORACLE Racing. Its
location couldn't be more ideal for its task at hand, host club for the 34th
edition of the America's Cup, just 1.8 nautical miles east of the Golden
Gate Bridge and central to the city front, the site of the future
race-course for the next event.

While on paper it seems that the GGYC must hold a fundamental role in all
that's been happening over the past year, in all truth we haven't heard much
from the folks who constitute the membership in the notoriously modest club.
I checked in with Marcus Young, former Commodore of the GGYC and now Staff
Commodore, who assured me that there's plenty going on behind the scenes...

* As host Club what IS GGYC's role in all this?

MARCUS YOUNG: The Club is really the mechanism by which the races occur. In
order to become a challenging team for the Cup you have to come through a
yacht club so that's where the relationship between the Cup and a team
starts. Now that we are the Defender of the Cup and the Trustee of the Cup,
we're the point of entry for the other teams wishing to enter, ie, they have
to lodge their challenge/desire to race with us, pay the entry fee and the
Club is responsible for the processing/approval of those entries.

As we move forward over the next couple of months, the club will most likely
take on a bigger role in some facets but in other ways, we've assigned
management of the event over to the new entity, the America's Cup Event
Authority because we really want to have people who are, for example,
experienced in sports marketing for the day to day management of the event.
I would argue that it would be difficult today for any club, really, to
manage the business of the racing on their own without a separate entity
managing it.

FIVE PLUS ONE: America's Cup event organizers have confirmed the sixth entry
for the 34th America's Cup in 2013. The official announcement by the team is
expected soon. This sixth entry joins previously announced challenges from
Italy (Mascalzone Latino), France (ALEPH), and Sweden (Artemis Racing). A
fourth challenger has been accepted but has yet to disclosed any details of
its entry, while Oracle Racing from the United States has been accepted as a
defender candidate by the Golden Gate Yacht Club. --
http://tinyurl.com/ACUP-011211

AC FAQS: SF Bay area based publication Latitude 38 has put together an
America's Cup 34 FAQ page where you can go to find answers to some of the
frequent questions being asked: http://www.latitude38.com/features/ac34.html

AMBASSADOR: Gavin Newsom, newly minted lieutenant governor of California,
has been named the first-ever “ambassador at large for the 34th America’s
Cup.” As mayor of San Francisco, Newsom’s team won the bid to bring the
international yachting race to San Francisco Bay. Now Newsom’s role will be
to help attract and welcome visitors from other states and abroad to the
event, and support efforts to create a superior fan and participant
experience both on and off the water. -- SF Examiner,
http://tinyurl.com/SFE-011211

VIDEO GAME MAY BE COMING TO YOUR SCREEN
By Patrick Twohy, SF Business Times
A close read of the protocol for the America's Cup suggests that organizers
are hoping it'll be a multimedia bonanza. The agreement between Golden Gate
Yacht Club and the Italian yacht club that is the official lead challenger
for the Auld Mug has a section titled "ELECTRONIC GAMES AND BOARD GAMES."

The section says simply that the America's Cup Event Authority, the official
entity in charge of everything associated with the America's Cup that isn't
actually part of the racing, can use photos and video of any of the
competitors in online, electronic or board games.

Now, I'm a big sailing fan. I learned to sail right where Larry Ellison did
- Cal Sailing Club in Berkeley - so I'd be perhaps more likely than many to
be all happy about new sailing-related games. But honestly, I'm skeptical.

I've tried out a lot of them over the years and I haven't found one that
held my attention. But none featured territory where I've sailed for 20-plus
years. Maybe in a Christmas stocking sometime soon, I'll find an America's
Cup video game.

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GROWING THE SPORT
Multihull racing is on the rise in the U.S. thanks to countless sailors and
volunteers who are running first-class events around the country, as well as
introducing this form of exciting sailing to beginners. Bob Hodges of
Covington, La. is one of these contributors making a difference in the
multihull sailing community.

Bob, a member of the Pontchartrain Yacht Club, has been class president of
the United States A-Class Catamaran Association since 2004. During his
watch, the class in the U.S. has doubled in size which has helped foster the
development of some of the most talented sailors in the country.

“I think the growth of our class in the U.S. over the last six to eight
years is attributed to several factors,” Bob explained. “One has been the
establishment of districts that promote regional racing. Another has been
better publicity and visibility through our own website and the internet
based sailing media. But the most important factor has been the attitude of
the sailors who make the events fun, share knowledge, and create an
atmosphere where new A-Class sailors feel extremely welcome.”

This week Bob is competing at the first round of the 2011 U.S. A-Class
Catamaran Winter Circuit in Islamorada, Fla. He is competing with elite
sailors including Ben Hall, Matt Struble, Randy Smyth, Morgan Larson, and
Terry Hutchinson.

"Multihull racing is a growing segment of the sport because the technology
is getting better both in high performance beach cats and cruising boats,
and people are embracing it. The America's Cup adds a little punch and
legitimacy to our segment of the sport. It’s good that skiff technology is
trickling down to dinghies, especially youth boats." -- Full story:
http://media.ussailing.org/Sailor_of_the_Week.htm

PIGEONS AND STATUES
Belmont, NSW, Australia (January 12, 2011) - It was a layday today at the
2011 Zhik Moth Worlds’, allowing the 109 entrants to mend their rides and
themselves after several days of big wind racing. Nathan Outteridge (AUS)
has dominated thus far, winning 10 of the 12 races, but holds only a six
point margin over Aussie Joe Turner in second. 2009 World Champ Bora Gulari
(USA) sits in 5th overall, while Linsdsay Bergan (USA) is tied for the lead
of top women.

Commenting on the event is current World Champion Simon Payne (GBR):
“We had big winds Tuesday which peaked at about 28 knots. It was a wild ride
and the rich got richer as the big and strong smoked upwind. I went through
the line in the 2nd race with 28.6 knots on the clock. Clive Watts, owner of
CST recorded 30.3 knots which was a nice birthday present for him. It wasn’t
so long ago that we had the prestigious 20 knot club.

“So I'm struggling in this event and some people have asked me why I still
race after winning the Worlds in 2006 and 2010. For the love of the sport
mate, you have to get over your ego and if you still enjoy it, go sailing.
In this game sometimes you are the pigeon and sometimes you are the statue.
You have to be pragmatic and the effort required to win a Worlds is immense!
You can’t do it every time and accordingly you have to be realistic about
your result. You win when you can and you don’t run for the skirting boards
when you can’t.”

CLOSING IN ON THE EQUATOR
(January 12, 2011: Day 13) While leaders Jean-Pierre Dick and Loick Peyron
on Virbac-Paprec had around 120 miles to run to the Equator at 1530hrs UTC
today, the chasing duo of Michel Desjoyeaux and François Gabart on Foncia
seem little compromised by their crash box damage which is expected to see
them stop in Recife, Brasil on Friday.

The detour to Brasil may be around 120 miles but in fact Foncia will sail a
slightly higher, faster angle to get to the stopover so the net cost in time
off the routing can be minimised. The Foncia technical team will be awaiting
the arrival of the duo for an operation which they anticipate will take
around 20 hours to replace sacrificial ‘nose cone’.

The decision has been made that Alex Thomson will not rejoin HUGO BOSS as
skipper, but instead will remain in England to stay close to his infant son
Oscar who was diagnosed with a heart condition after being born on January
7th. HUGO BOSS will continue on with substitute skipper Wouter Verbraak
(NED) and Andy Meiklejohn (NZL). Thompson was originally unable to start the
race after undergoing an emergency appendectomy two days prior to the
December 31st start.

BACKGROUND: This is the second edition of the non-stop Barcelona World Race,
the only double-handed race around the world. Fourteen teams are competing
on Open 60s which started December 31st and is expected to finish by late
March. The 25,000 nautical mile course is from Barcelona to Barcelona via
three capes: Good Hope, Leeuwin and Horn, Cook Strait, putting Antarctica to
starboard. Race website: http://www.barcelonaworldrace.org

QUOTE / UNQUOTE
“The thing that is best for me is to put myself in the middle of this ever
changing world, cope with everything it dishes out, and spend 24 hours a day
in a race! The mental strength you need to spend 3 months in a 24 hour a day
competition, managing yourself physically and your emotions, is probably one
of the best tests there is of a person.” - Ryan Breymaier, the sole U.S.
participant in the doublehanded Barcelona World Race and sailing with
co-skipper Boris Herrmann (Germany) aboard Team Neutrogena.

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A HUGE TACTICAL DECISION
If you’ve been following the Velux 5 Oceans round the word race, than you
know there were only five solo sailors that started the race, and now there
are four. You know the rules of the race required each skipper to sail an
Eco 60, aka an older Open 60 launched before January 2003. And you probably
know that this race has not attracted the most elite of ocean going racer,
with the Barcelona World Race attracting all the top dogs.

Regardless, there have been times during the Velux 5 Oceans that none of
this matters. Like now. This five leg race is near the finish of its second
leg from Cape Town, SA to Wellington, New Zealand, and the race organizers
have presented a tactical challenge that even the most disinterested
observer should appreciate.

“When setting the course we purposely left it up to the sailors to decide
their own route into Wellington as a final test for them,” Velux 5 Oceans
race director David Adams explained. As the finish is located at the bottom
of New Zealand’s north island, the choice of which way to pass the south
island is left to the sailors.

“Each route has its benefits and its drawbacks,” notes Adams. “(By going
west), the Tasman Sea can be pretty fickle and the Cook Strait is notorious
for its funnel effect, channelling strong winds down in between the North
and South islands. The easterly route however is also pretty tricky - it
would see the skippers sailing due north into the strong, seasonal
Wellington northerlies.”

As the VELUX 5 OCEANS race tracker shows, race leader Brad Van Liew (USA)
and Derek Hatfield (CAN) appear to have opted for the westerly route through
the Tasman while Polish skipper Gutek on Operon Racing has split to the east
in a gutsy tactical move. Van Liew’s lead over second place Gutek is 334nm
with 603 nm to the finish.

“West of New Zealand looks quite confused right now,” added Adams, a former
Velux 5 Oceans winner. “A high pressure is coming through the Tasman which
will bring some pretty light winds of five to ten knots. However, once
through it, they will be able to make the right turn into the Cook Strait
and blast into Wellington with strong winds behind them. The easterly route
looks very constant, with winds of about 15 to 20 knots from the south west
- perfect sailing conditions. But by Sunday things will have changed totally
and Gutek will have 40 knots of breeze on the nose.”

SAILING SHORTS
* The historic Edgewood Yacht Club in Cranston was destroyed by fire early
Wednesday morning. Flames shot into the air before 4 a.m. It took about two
hours to bring the fire under the control. No one was hurt, and the cause of
the fire is under investigation. A member of the club told NBC 10 News that
the club will continue, but that the building is a total loss. The club's
first floor had recently been renovated. The Edgewood Yacht Club is one of
the oldest yacht clubs in Rhode Island, dating to 1908. --
http://tinyurl.com/EYC-011211

* British yachtsman Geoff Holt MBE has won the coveted title of Yachting
Journalists’ Association Pantaenius Yachtsman of the Year for 2010.
Southampton based Geoff, 44, became the first quadriplegic to sail across
the Atlantic when he sailed into the British Virgin Islands on January 7,
2010, overcoming personal adversity and achieving his own impossible dream.
Other finalists in contention were Edward Wright, Finn World Champion and
double World Cup Winner, and Lucy MacGregor and her team, Ladies World Match
Racing Winners. -- Yachting World, full story: http://tinyurl.com/YW-011211

* Once upon a time, all classes for the Transpac race from Los Angeles, CA
to Honolulu, HI started on July 4. Later, in an attempt to get all the boats
to Honolulu together, or almost, there were four starts. That didn't work,
so Transpac YC is trying something simpler. Transpac 2011 will have two
starts, July 4 and July 8. The breakdown will be announced on June 4, the
deadline for filing an entry. -- http://www.transpacrace.com

* The Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council Tuesday voted
unanimously to turn down a proposal by Champlin's Marina to expand its docks
and piers over an additional four acres of Block Island's Great Salt Pond.
This could bring to an end a seven-year legal battle to expand the marina.
-- Soundings, read on: http://tinyurl.com/STO-011211

CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine)
Is your event listed on the Scuttlebutt Event Calendar? This free,
self-serve tool is the easiest way to communicate to both sailors and
sailing media. These are some of the events listed on the calendar for this
weekend:
Jan 14-16 - Caribbean Laser Midwinter Regatta - Cabarete, Puerto Plata, DR
Jan 14-17 - ISAF Youth World Qualifier - LaPorte, TX, USA
Jan 15 - Heineken Cape Town to Rio de Janeiro Race - Cape Town, SA
View all the events at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar

INDUSTRY NEWS UPDATES
The Industry News category of the Scuttlebutt Forum provides an opportunity
for companies to announce new products and services. Here are some of recent
postings:

GUEST COMMENTARY
Scuttlebutt strongly encourages feedback from the Scuttlebutt community.
Either submit comments by email or post them on the Forum. Submitted
comments chosen to be published in the newsletter may be limited to 250
words. Authors may have one published submission per subject, and should
save their bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere.

* From Bill LeFevre, Tijeras, NM: (re, story in Scuttlebutt 3255)
Great, my club has been debating the merits of replacing our junior fleet.

“Keep the Sabot!”
“No way, regional tradition requires we use senior El Toro.”
“Don’t be silly, the Oppi has the strongest fleet in the Entire Universe”
“Let’s try the Facebook, AND the Open Bic”

With the news of the AC45 going youth, we’ve finally got a platform that we
can all agree on.

CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION
“Realise risk is good, as long as it’s sensibly evaluated. In society, we’ve
taken a wrong turn on this. You have to let young people take risks.
Building sites are much safer places today because of health-and-safety
regulations, and that’s great, but then we go too far. Playing conkers with
goggles and gloves on? Do me a favour.” -- Sir Robin Knox-Johnston (GBR),
who in 1969 was the first to complete a non-stop solo circumnavigation of
the globe, http://tinyurl.com/RKJ-CO